Arsenal: Final Confrontation
by Gottaluvit
Summary: Arsenal is found unconcious and injured. Can his family and friends solve a mystery before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Arsenal: Final Confrontation  
By: Kim  
Summery: After Arsenal is found unconscious and injured, its up to his friends and family to solve a mystery that could potentially destroy Roy's future.  
Disclaimer: All Characters belong to DC**

**Rating: M -some language and character death**

**Please reveiw if you like it.**

**Arsenal: Final Confrontation**

**Part 1**

**Roy opened his eyes, staring at the stark white ceiling above him as his senses slowly adjusted, he felt weak, and when he turned his head to the side the movement made his head pound, causing him to groan softly, he closed his eyes again, and the pain slowly abated.**

"**Welcome back Red." A feminine voice said.**

**Tentatively Roy opened his eyes, there sitting beside his bed was Dinah Lance. Realizing he was in a hospital bed he spoke, his voice dry and husky "Dinah…...where's Lian?"**

"**Oh I like that, not how are you Dinah, or long time no see Dinah not even a hi Dinah, just where's Lian?..." Dinah smiled, and placed a hand on Roy's head and stroked his hair, "She's fine Roy, she's at home, Connor and Mia are with her, Ollie should be here soon."**

**Roy tried to sit up, but as soon as he moved his head, a blinding white light of pain slammed into his brain, unable to stifle a groan, he lay still with his eyes tightly closed.**

"**I could have told you that wouldn't be a good idea Boyo" Dinah said "You've taken a nasty whack to the side of your head, and you've been out for a couple of days….."**

"**Acckk" said Roy suddenly clutching his stomach, and rolling onto his side, trying to suppress the sudden rise of nausea that assailed him, as soon as he moved, his head pounded again, and he could feel himself losing the battle.**

**Dinah sprang forward grabbing a bowl that was strategically placed on the side table, and helped Roy to lean forward over it.**

**After dry heaving for a minute Roy waved the bowl away, having nothing in his stomach after being unconscious for three days didn't ease the feeling of misery and helplessness the nausea caused, panting slightly he mumbled quietly "Shit….I'm sorry Dinah"**

"**Hey….s'okay, Boyo, I've been there before remember,… try and lay still for a minute, see if it settles.." reaching out she pressed the call button to call a nurse.**

**-------------------**

**Ollie arrived to find Dinah sitting outside the room, "How is he?... Awake yet?" he asked anxiously.**

"**Yeah, Doctors with him, he's not feeling too crash hot at the moment, you know what it's like a belt on the head like he's had knocks you around a bit, and what ever that drug they found in his blood stream was doesn't help matters."**

**Ollie nodded "Yeah, I know, not nice, not nice at all…….He say what happened?"**

"**Never had a chance to ask…" before Dinah finished the sentence, the door opened and a Doctor walked out.**

"**Hey Doc, what's the go?" Ollie asked quickly.**

"**He's awake, but, your aware of that of course…… I given him something to help with the nausea, he'll be okay, just needs rest, the scans of his head injury have all come back clear so that's good news, and the substance in his blood stream is passing through his body quickly most of it 's effects had faded by the time he was found and it doesn't look to have caused any permanent damage. However, we still don't know what it was so we will be keeping a close eye on him for another couple of days, he was very dehydrated when he was found, so I want to keep intravenous fluids up a bit longer, certainly while he's feeling nauseated……We really don't know what happened to him , he seems to be quite confused about things at the moment but that may not be unusual given the condition he was in when you found him, He's asked several times about the welfare of his daughter, I've reassured him she is with friends, but other than that it's a matter of rest and time, and he'll make a full recovery." The Doctor moved away as a nurse approached him, and Ollie and Dinah turned and entered Roy's room.**

**Roy was lying curled up slightly on his side facing the door, he opened his eyes on hearing Ollie and Dinah approach.**

'**Hey kiddo" Ollie said reaching out to place a hand on Roy's shoulder.**

**Dinah dragged a couple of chairs around to the side of the bed and sat in one, watching as Ollie continued to stand beside the bed.**

"**Hey Oll's………Lian ok?"**

**Ollie gave Roy's shoulder a pat then sat in the chair Dinah had dragged around for him, "Course she's ok son, heard you've asked that a few times today"**

**Roy's eye's widened slightly in confusion. "Have I?" he asked "I don't remember asking that before"**

**Dinah spoke reassuringly before Roy had time to worry over his memory lapses "Doctor say's it's not unusual to be a bit confused, so don't worry about it Red it'll settle down soon."**

"**Kay" Roy said closing his eyes, and drifting back into sleep.**

**End of part 1**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

**Oliver Queen stood aside to let his visitors into the living room. Gesturing for them to take a seat on the sofa, "Coffee?" he asked.**

"**No Ollie, this isn't a social call we want to know how we can help?" Dick Grayson said.**

"**Help?" Ollie asked sitting opposite the two young men facing him, he hadn't been surprised to open the door and find Dick and Wally standing there, he knew Roy's friends would be there for him, but as for how they could 'Help' Ollie had no idea.**

"**Yeah" said Wally, "It's all over the news, and we tried to see him at the hospital but there's a guard at the door, and it's family only"**

**Ollie hung his head, staring at the ground for a few seconds before looking up again, "I know, their only letting me and Dinah in…..I had to tell them he was Dinah's kid brother or they wouldn't have even let her in."**

"**He okay?" Dick asked concerned.**

"**Yeah, he's had a whack on the head and they dosed him up with some unknown drug, but he'll live."**

"**Did he tell you what happened Ollie?" Dick asked quietly "How could he have done something like this?" there was no accusation in Dick's voice, he knew there had to be a logical explanation for what appeared to be Roy's actions.**

"**He'd never hurt her, they might not love each other anymore but he'd never hurt her, I know he wouldn't" said Wally**

**Ollie leaned back in the chair, steepleing his finger tips and staring at his hands, "He doesn't remember anything, in fact he's having trouble even remembering things he say's five minutes after he say's them, Doc say's it'll settle, but he can't guarantee he'll ever remember what happened before we found him, we have to wait and see…… Meanwhile Dinah and I are having hells own trouble keeping the Police from questioning him."**

"**They haven't spoken to him yet?... You mean no one has told him?" Dick asked, his voice rising at the realization.**

"**Not yet Kid, he was having trouble just stopping himself from spilling his guts this morning, he wasn't in any shape for us to go into details."**

"**Shit someone's got to tell him Ollie, and soon, it.s got to be better coming from you or Dinah than the police." Wally stated.**

"**You think I don't know that Wally? Of course I'm gonna tell him, Dinah's going to ring me as soon as it looks like he's waking up and I'll go straight over, we'll tell him together." Ollie paused, then added "It ain't easy you know!"**

"**Of course it's not Ollie we understand that… Look I need you to tell me everything you know about what happened, anything, even minor details can help start to piece an investigation together."**

**Dick listened intently as Ollie began to fill him in.**

**Three Days ago**

_**Ollie paused as his cell phone rang, answering it he was instantly alert as Roy, his voice sounding panicked and garbled, babbled almost incoherently , "Roy?.… Roy slow down, I can't understand you, Roy?.. where the hell are you?..." not getting the response from Roy he was after Ollie almost shouted, "Roy where the hell are you?" the edge in Ollie's voice seemed to have the desired effect and Roy calmed down enough to babble his location, before the call suddenly ended. Ollie and Connor immediately went to help.**_

_**They had arrived at an abandoned warehouse at the location Roy had given them, a quick search later and they realized Roy wasn't there, however Ollie was shocked to find that Lian was curled up in a corner sniffling softly. Ollie cradled the little girl in his arms, and she looked up at him appearing confused at first, then wrapping her little arms tightly around his neck she began to sob loudly, Ollie held the child tighter whispering soothing words as Connor began to scout around the warehouse.**_

_**It was quickly obvious to Connor that Roy had been there, a number of red arrows were spilled on the floor as well as assorted throwing stars and a knife, Connor continued through the warehouse cautiously, carefully making his way past a pile of broken crates and into a room that had once been an office, suddenly he froze, staring incomprehensively at the sight before him, a figure lay crumpled on the floor, obviously dead, he'd seen dead bodies before, that wasn't what had shocked him, no, the reason she was dead was what shocked him, there before him lay the dead body of Cheshire the person who killed her had made damn sure she died, five red arrows stuck out of her chest. **_

_**Ollie searched the area for two days knowing Roy would never have left Lian alone, he suspected he was still in the area, possibly injured, the Police had searched as well but they hadn't searched as far, they felt Arsenal was on the run and long gone, Ollie knew better and Roy was found unconscious with a head injury after apparently tumbling over an embankment about two miles away from the warehouse**_

**Present day**

**Ollie looked up from remembering what had happened, "that's about it really Lian was too upset to say anything much, and I'm not going to push her." Pausing, Ollie looked slightly away from Dick.**

**Dick instantly noticed Ollie's subtle display of discomfort at the mention of Lian and pounced on it straight away, "You said she didn't say much? What was it she did say?"**

**Ollie glanced uncomfortably at Dick he had kept this small piece of information from the police, and Lian had since refused to talk about anything to do with that night, or her father in fact. But he knew that he had to trust Dick, if anyone could make sense of the whole damnable situation Dick could, "Ok, but you both have to keep this to yourselves no one else knows, and if the Police or the media hear it…….. well lets just not make an already bad situation worse…….She was crying and she said "Daddy hurt Mommy" at first I thought I'd heard wrong but she said it a couple of more times, then refused to say any more.….A few minutes later Connor came out and took her from me and told me to go look in the other room that's when I realized how bad the situation really was."**

**Wally looked horrified. "Lian saw what happened? She saw her father kill her mother?"**

"**We don't know that he killed her Wally" Dick snapped. "Yeah it looks bad, really bad but we've been in situations before that turned out not to be what they appeared to be."**

**Wally immediately wished he could take his words back, he hadn't meant to sound like he thought Roy had done this horrible thing, "I'm sorry that's not what I meant, I know there's a lot more to this than meets the eye it's just….whatever Lian saw……." He stopped, then looked at Dick, "Ok, what's our next move?"**

**End of part 2**


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

**Nightwing scoured the area inside the abandoned warehouse, but there was little evidence to be found, the area had been well worked over by the Police, but Nightwing knew there could always be something they had missed, he was determined to find whatever he could, he knew his friends life depended on it Roy didn't know it yet but he was in a whole mess of trouble, every piece of evidence the Police had pointed to the fact that Roy as Arsenal, had killed Cheshire.**

**Roy still hadn't regained his memory of the night and Lian had refused to say anything, the little girl was quite traumatized and Ollie was arranging for the child to receive counseling, it was decided that Lian should not be pushed into talking about the events of the night her mother was killed she would open up if and when she needed too.**

**Nightwing paused, a small piece of fabric caught his eye, on closer inspection it appeared the fabric, no more than a centimeter square was made out of some sort of tightly messed material, like fine chain mail, Nightwing placed the piece into a container and carefully put it away, it might mean nothing, but it looked to be recently dropped there, so it could be important.**

**He continued his inspection of the area not turning up any thing else inside the building, however outside there where numerous foot prints obviously made by the Police, and he had seen one boot print that he had instantly recognized as belonging to Roy the distinctive heavy tread of Roy's boots was easily recognizable, but one print appeared to be different to all the other prints, another boot print, but completely different to Roy's, Nightwing knelt and pulled a small camera out and took a couple of photos of the print.**

**After continuing his search for another hour, he headed home realizing the two small pieces of evidence he had collected were unlikely to help him for the moment, but knowing smaller pieces of evidence had helped solve other cases he had worked on. He would see what information Oracle had been able to access from the Police computers, this was just the beginning, he had a long way to go to untangle this mess, but he was damned well going to sort it out he wouldn't rest until he did.**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Ollie stood next to Dinah who sat on a chair next to Roy's bed, they knew they couldn't put this off any longer.**

**Roy half lay, half sat in bed, he still looked pale and weak but the unknown drug in his blood had finally worked its way out of his system.**

**Although his memory of the last few months had appeared to be erased, his short term memory had improved, which meant he had stopped repeating himself and was able to remember what was said to him.**

"**Kiddo I know your getting pissed that we keep asking you if you remember what happened but we don't have a choice, there's a whole heap that went down that we don't have answers for and pretty soon the Police are gonna be asking you the same questions."**

**Ollie paused as Roy's eye's snapped to him "The Police? What the hell are you talking about Ollie?... What do the Police want to know?... What haven't you been telling me?.. This isn't just a case of me getting my ass kicked and left for dead, is it? What the hell do you know that I don't? What d…….."**

"**Just stop Kid, you've gotta listen to me I'll give you the answers that I have but there's some that I don't know. Just sit quiet for a bit and I'll explain what I can." Ollie paused as Dinah stood up and walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to quietly take Roy's hand in hers.**

"**Whoa, it must be some bad shit if ya think I'm gonna need my hand held" Roy said, his voice taking on a slight note of panic.**

"**It's pretty bad Roy" Dinah said "But remember, we don't know exactly what happened so there are gaps that we can't fill in at the moment"**

**Roy stared intently at Dinah's face, then turning to look at Ollie he said "Just freakin tell me what you know will ya"**

**Ollie sighed, "Ok, ok here it is, I got a call from you about a week ago, you sounded pretty wierded out and it took me awhile to get any sense out of you, but eventually I got an address from ya, Connor an I went to the address you'd given me,…. It was an old warehouse abandoned long ago,….we found Lian there…"**

"**Lian was there? What would I take her there for? Is that where you found me? Wh….."**

"**Shudup and listen there's more to it, a whole lot more. Yes Lian was there, I'm not sure if you took her there or if someone else did, and no that's not where you were found, in fact you weren't found until acouple of days later.." seeing Roy's mouth start to open again Ollie quickly added "I said shut up and listen I'm not finished, you can ask questions when I finish…..As I said you weren't there, Lian was, and so was someone else…………Cheshire was there Roy,.. she's dead."**

**Roy sat up quickly and instantly regretted it as a severe wave of dizziness caused him to grab Dinah's hand firmly. Thankful for the fact that he was on a bed, Roy squeezed his eye's shut waiting for the dizziness to go, he felt firm hands gripping his shoulders as Ollie guided him back against the pillows.**

**After a few seconds the dizziness from his sudden movement had abated, Roy opened his eyes and looked at Ollie, who still had one hand on his shoulder. Taking a deep breath Roy forced the tumultuous emotions running through him to the background looking at Ollie he asked in a dry voice. "How?"**

**Ollie knew he couldn't hide what he knew, Roy had to know, it was better coming from him than someone else, he knew that, but before he could say anything Dinah spoke.**

"**Red...she had a sedative in her system but that's not what killed her…….There's no easy way to tell you this….but she…….she had a number of your arrows in her chest, that's what killed her."**

**Roy stared blankly at Dinah, he was aware of a roaring sound in his head as he tried to come to terms with what he had just heard, he tried, and failed to remember that night. He didn't love Chesh any more, he'd cut her out of his life so he was genuinely surprised by the surge of emotion he felt.. … No…. He didn't love Jade anymore but he wouldn't have killed her, nothing could make him do that…..could it?**

**Suddenly another thought hit him, one that made him jump in horror. "You said Lian was there? Please.…. .Please, tell me she didn't see anything." Roy knew the answer before he'd even asked the question.**

**Ollie looked at the floor "She saw something we're not sure what, she won't talk about it...I've organized some counseling for her."**

**Roy stared, horrified at the thought that his child was suffering and he wasn't there to help, even worse he may have been responsible for that suffering, he threw the blankets off him and attempted to get up, struggling against both Ollie and Dinah as they tried to keep him still.**

'**Stop it Red, your not fit to go anywhere your only going to hurt yourself." Dinah reached over and pressed the call button as Ollie held Roy down.**

"**Please Ollie she needs me, I have to go" Roy pleaded, realizing Ollie wasn't about to let him up he blindly threw a punch only to have Dinah stop his fist mid flight, "Shit" Roy spat, before flopping back exhausted and dizzy as a Doctor approached the bed and emptied a syringe full of a clear substance into the arm that Dinah still held.**

**Roy stared blankly at the end of the bed as the Doctor spoke quietly to Ollie and left, He could feel a warm feeling slowly encompassing his body as the sedative he had been given took effect, turning to look at Ollie he managed to angrily but softly mumble "You really fuck'n piss me off sometimes Ollie." As he slipped into darkness.**

**Ollie stood looking down at Roy's sleeping form, "I know I do son… I know I do." He said quietly, than looked up a Dinah and added, "Well that went well didn't it?" he said dryly.**

**End of Part 4**


	4. Chapter 4

**A week later, Roy settled into the sofa in Ollie's living room as Ollie handed Roy a cup of coffee, Roy leaned back on the sofa savoring the smell that permeated from the cup, Ollie always made good coffee, it felt good to be out of the hospital, even if he wasn't allowed to leave Ollie's house without informing the Police where he was going, it had taken a lot of work on the parts of Ollie and Dick, even Oracle had to pull some strings to get the authorities to allow Roy to go home with Ollie, but he was glad they'd managed to swing it for him.**

"**So when will they be back?" Roy asked, taking a sip of the coffee, he was feeling much better, a little tired that was all and he was anxious to see Lian again, After Ollie and Dinah had spoken to him at the hospital, he had calmed down enough when he had awoken for them both to convince him it was best for Lian to stay at Ollie's home rather than trying to bring her to the hospital to see him, she was beginning to settle, and it would not have been good for her to have seen her fathers room being guarded by a Police officer, it would have only slowed down her return to the happy child she was which was slowly beginning to reappear . But Roy had missed her more than he could describe.**

"**Shouldn't be long now, Connor felt it was important to let her have some fun after the counseling sessions so he took her to Toys R Us... After the first session Mia took her to Titans Tower, the kid was worn out for a day afterwards, she had a ball"**

**Roy chuckled "Yeah, heaps of 'Aunts' and 'Uncles' to spoil her rotten, she would have had Gar jumping around as a monkey, and giving her pony rides the whole time."**

**Both men stopped talking as the door flew open and Connor walked in, Lian was in Connors arms as he carried her inside, she had a toy dinosaur clutched in her hands and she smiled happily at Connor who bent to put the little girl down.**

**Roy smiled, "Hey Princess" he said.**

**Lain look up, startled, she hadn't seen Roy on the chair when they walked in, the smile fell from her face and the toy clattered to the floor as she took a step behind Connor and held on to his knee.**

**Roy's own smile disappeared, "Lian?...Princess?" he stammered not understanding what was taking place in front of his eyes, his daughter was always overjoyed to see him, this wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting.**

**Connor reached down and picked Lian up again and walked over to sit on a chair near Roy, he could feel Lian's little body stiffen slightly as they approached Roy, he didn't know what to make of the reaction the little girl was having to her fathers presence but they all knew that Lian had seen something that night that had changed the relationship she had with her father, perhaps permanently.**

"**Etai Yazi, what's wrong?" Roy said in a quiet concerned voice.**

**On hearing the nickname her father called her, Lian relaxed slightly, she loved her father, she didn't understand what had happened between him and her Mother but he still sounded like her Daddy not the angry man that she had seen facing her Mommy a week ago. "You hurt Mommy." She whispered, putting her head down and burying her face into Connors chest.**

**Connor stiffened at the words and looked at Ollie who was standing behind Roy, he was about to speak but was quickly silenced by Ollie indicating he should say nothing and take Lian into the kitchen so he could talk to Roy, Connor stood up, "It's ok little one, lets get a glass of milk and we'll talk about this soon." He said leaving the room.**

**Roy sat back, he turned to look at Ollie. "I thought you told me she doesn't know yet?" he said in a whispered voice.**

"**She doesn't know everything yet son, we're not sure how much she saw, we still don't know what the hell happened, but I do know she doesn't know Jade's dead cause she's asked a dozen times if her Mothers ok and if she's back in jail."**

**Roy put his head in his hands, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, he sat that way for a long while until he felt Ollie's hand touch his shoulder and give it a firm squeeze.**

"**What the hell am I gonna do Ollie,….. What did I do?...What if I never remember and they end up throwing me into a jail cell and Lian has no one?**

"**Ain't gonna happen son, you know as well as I do that there's no way you could have done this someone else is involved and we'll damn well find out who the hell it was."**

**Roy sighed, and indicating the kitchen where Connor and Lian were said "What can I do?... I have to help her through this she's my life… but…….how can I help her when she won't come near me, when I don't even know what the hell it is that I'm dealing with?"**

**Ollie gave Roy's shoulder a pat than walked around to sit on a chair opposite Roy, "Son that kid thinks the sun shines out of your ass, she's going to come round, it's gonna be rough for awhile but all you can do is take things one step at a time, take it steady, it'll happen in it's own time."**

**Roy nodded "Man my life is turning to shit, I don't remember what happened to me before last week, the cops want me locked up, my kid hates me, and…… I'm taking parenting advice from you, this sucks."**

**Ollie smiled and stood up, secretly he was relieved that Roy could attempt such a feeble joke given the circumstances, even if it was at his expense, "Stay put I'll be back in a minute." He said walking towards the kitchen.**

**Taking a seat next to Lian at the kitchen table Ollie spoke to the little girl, "Princess you know your Dad would never hurt you, don't you?"**

**Lian looked up, "He hurt Mommy" she said again**

**Connor spoke quietly "How did he hurt your Mommy sweetheart?" he asked**

**Lian didn't respond to the question, she hung her head and fidgeted uncomfortably on her chair.**

"**It's ok Pumpkin, you don't have to tell us until your ready." Ollie said then added "But kiddo, your Daddy would never hurt you, and if something happened between your Mommy and Daddy it doesn't mean he loves you any less than he did before this happened."**

**Lian sat quietly swinging her legs back and forth, before saying softly. "I love my Daddy," she started to cry softly and Ollie reached over to pick her up and cuddle her to him.**

"**Baby girl, this all seems very confusing at the moment and whatever happened hurts, I know that both you and your Daddy are very sad at the moment, but its all gonna get better you'll see, its just gonna take some time."**

**Lian looked up and Ollie wiped the tears from her face with his thumb, "My Daddy's sad too?" she asked in a small concerned voice.**

"**Your Daddy doesn't remember what happened sweetheart…… But I know your Daddy and I know how much he's hurting because he can't fix whatever happened so that you can be happy around him again."**

**Lian stared quietly at Ollie for a minute absorbing what he had said, suddenly as if coming to a decision, she wriggled off his lap and walked out into the living room, Connor and Ollie followed but stopped in the doorway watching as the little girl walked around to stand in front of Roy.**

**Roy who'd had his head down looked up as she approached and they both quietly looked at each other before Lian climbed into Roy's arms and wrapped her little arms around his neck, "Don't be sad Daddy, it'll be ok." She said.**

**Ollie let out a sigh, he knew that Lian and Roy would still have a long way to go to get through the days ahead, but it was a start, and it showed just how much the little girl loved her father that she was willing to suppress whatever fears she had to offer comfort to him. Things would work out in the long run, they had to.**

**End Part 4**


	5. Chapter 5

**Dick entered the gym area of Ollie's basement to a blast of music, the thumping beat vibrating throughout his body, Dick grinned, "some things never change" he said quietly to himself, remembering the times when Roy's training sessions invariably involved his playing the stereo so loud that the whole training room at the Tower would reverberate with the force of the music, it was surprising, Thought Dick, that Roy was still able to hear anything afterwards.**

**Roy was on the treadmill, running at full sprint, he'd obviously been going at it for awhile, as Dick noted his sodden, sweat drenched singlet and sweat shorts. He'd also had enough, Dick noticed his gait was becoming clumsy, indicating his body was protesting, Roy should have been easing into a cool down jog, but he wasn't slowing down. 'Obviously a man on a mission' thought Dick, as he walked over and turned down the stereo, bringing his presence to Roy's attention by doing so.**

**Roy instantly slowed to a jog, turning and giving Dick a small wave of acknowledgement.**

**After a few minutes Roy got off the machine, and walked unsteadily over to Dick, panting he sat on the floor and leaned back against the wall that Dick was standing against. "Hey……Dickster, how's it hanging dude?" Roy said, attempting to put a jovial tone to his voice.**

**Dick chuckled, "Hanging better than yours will be if Ollie catches you running yourself into the ground like that."**

"**Nah man……..he knows I gotta let loose sometimes, and better I let it out on the equipment down here, than taking it out on any of them, 'sides he's gone out for a few hours with Dinah and Lian, Mia's off with the Titans, so it's only me and Connor here."**

"**YeahConnor told me when he let me in……..So……..You need to talk or anything man?" Dick asked as he walked over to a small fridge in the room, opened the door and pulled out a bottle of Gatorade and tossed it to Roy, before returning and sitting down on the floor beside him.**

**Roy caught the drink. "Thanks Mom" he joked as he opened it and gulped down a third of the bottle before answering Dick's question. "Nah, ain't got nothing to say dude……..bit hard to talk about what I don't remember."**

"**Ok…..so maybe we start out by working out how much you don't remember……..what about the first thing you can remember after Ollie found you?"**

**Roy looked at the ground, "I…….remember the hospital…not everything at first…but bits and pieces, Dinah, Doctor's that sort of stuff, but it's not really clear until a couple of days after I'd been there, that's about it really…..nothing before the hospital."**

"**Can you think back to what you remember before this all happened?"**

"**Yeah, clear as a bell, cleaning the living room up, it was Lian's birthday the day before, Mia and Dinah organized a party with some of her little buddies from school…..those kids really trashed the apartment, Lian had a great time." Roy chuckled at the thought, "Afterwards we went to the park, Ollie gave her a new bike and she was itching to try it out, we didn't bother cleaning up till the next morning."**

"**Lian's birthday? That's the last thing you remember?...Roy that was nearly four months ago."**

"**I know that dude." Roy said his voice beginning to show annoyance. "I've already gone through this with Ollie, the Police, Connor and Dinah……..I wish to hell you'd all stop asking the same things over and over." Roy snapped.**

"**Bud…….you know why we hafta do this, your in deep shit man, and we all want to get you out of it"**

**Roy sighed, downing the rest of his drink, before speaking. This time his voice was calmer, more controlled, "I know man, and I'm grateful…….It's just….I go over and over things in my head…trying to remember, trying to figure out what might have happened……I lay awake most of the night thinking about it until my head hurts, but nothing comes to me……..Then I get up, and I see Lian, and she………she's still so distant……Yeah she talks to me, and she'll give me a hug…..If I ask…..But it's all changed, and I don't know what the hell changed it, I don't know what my kid saw me do, and she won't talk about it to anyone……….So I can't even begin to pull down the wall she's built up……Then I go back to thinking about it all again, and _not_ remembering……And then I'm asked if I remember anything again, and again…..And, well……It totally sucks man." Roy leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eye's.**

**Dick sat quietly for a moment, taking in what Roy had just said to him. Standing up, he turned and gave Roy a pat on the shoulder, before offering him a hand up. "I understand Buddy…….Tell you what….You tell me if you remember anything any earlier, but from now on we'll get together and talk once or twicea week and run through the boring questions, and I'll tell everyone else to back off a bit, deal?"**

"**Deal" Roy said, taking Dicks hand and pulling himself up on his feet.**

"**Right, now I'm going to wait for you upstairs, you take a shower……cause you stink man….Wally's coming over soon….we'll steal a couple of Ollie's beers and kick back for awhile.**

"**He bringing the Pizza's?"**

"**You know it, beer and Pizza, or in Connor's case some of that herbal tea shit he drinks and salad."**

**Roy headed towards the shower "Sounds like a plan man" he chuckled.**

**---------------------------------------------------**

**Dick paced the floor of his apartment, as Wally sat on a chair nervously bouncing his leg up and down at a speed which made it look like a blur.**

"**Ok, what do we have so far?" Dick asked out load, not really talking to Wally but just trying to get things in order in his own mind. "We, know that around the same time, or just before Roy and Cheshire where at the warehouse, someone else was there, that in itself, doesn't mean whoever it was had anything to do with what went down there, but combined with the fact that Oracle accessed the Police records, and other than Roy's weapons, The other main items of evidence found where two darts, both completely different, and the marks on them indicated they were both fired from different guns."**

**Wally spoke up. "Maybe they were both Roy's,…. shit the guy's got enough guns to fill an armory Dick, you know what he's like he's a gun freak at the best of time's"**

"**Wally, he might have a huge range locked up at home, but have you ever known him to carry more than a couple on him? Especially when he's carrying his bow, He certainly wouldn't be likely to waste space by carrying two guns that do the same thing, when he could carry one and some other weapon, besides we know there was only one on him when he was found, and the unused darts he was carrying with him are the standard ones he's been packing for the last year or so, The Police never found any other guns in their search and neither did I……..One of the darts was tested and contained the same sedative Cheshire had in her body, thatone was fired from the gun found on Roy,but the other one had been partly crushed and there wasn't enough residue in it to get conclusive results." Dick paused and turned to face Wally.**

"**Maybe it belonged to Cheshire?" Wally asked**

"**Cheshire doesn't need to use darts, not with the poisons she has on her fingernails." Dick paused, and then smiled. "You wanna give me a lift? We're gonna pay a visit to Roy's apartment."**

**-----------------------------------------------**

**A few minutes later the two young men, dressed as Nightwing and Flash, stood in the living room of Roy Harper's apartment.**

"**I'm glad Oracle was able to pull strings and stall the Police from issuing a warrant to search this place." Dick said, "I really needed to do this before them."**

**Flash walked towards the kitchen, "Don't touch anything Dude." Nightwing said.**

**Starting in the living room Nightwing began to search, he quickly noted that Roy's entry door was locked from the inside, which meant Roy had left through the window, which had been unlocked when he and Flash had entered, that also meant that the alarm was turned off. "Well I don't think Roy took Lian with him to that warehouse." Nightwing said, "Which means that probably, either Cheshire or someone else did"**

"**How do you know that?" Flash asked.**

"**Doors locked from the inside, I couldn't see Roy carting Lian out the window and over rooftops."**

**Entering Roy's room Nightwing noticed blankets piled on the floor, and Roy's smashed phone shattered into pieces on the other side of the room, it had obviously been thrown there with some force, he'd seen this before. "Good one Roy, you've really got to learn to keep that temper under control." He mumbled. He could imagine the scenario that had played out in this room, he'd seen similar scenes before, Roy had received some sort of call that he wasn't happy about and had hurled the phone against the wall. 'That's got to be the third phone this year that your damn temper has killed, Harper" He said to himself.**

**Nightwing continued the search, after half an hour or so Flash disappeared somewhere, returning after a few minutes, every so often he would repeat the action, standing around waiting, wasn't his strong point.**

**Nightwing noted the door to Lian's room had been flung open with enough force to dent the wall behind it, possible by Roy in a rush to check on her, the bed was unmade, but other than that Lian's room was untouched.**

**After continuing to search for another two hours, the two heroes's returned to Dick's apartment.**

"**Ok" Dick said, "The alarm wasn't turned off as I first thought…. it wasn't working, someone had shut it down from the outside, someone who knew their stuff, because I know that alarm was an excellent system, I helped Roy install it." Dick Paused before continuing, "From what I can see, it went something like this, Someone dismantled the alarm, then entered through the window, I'm guessing they took Lian, left, then called Roy… he's gotten his gear together and left to go wherever he was told."**

'**So some one set him up, there was someone else besides Cheshire involved." Wally said**

"**Not necessarily, Wally, it could have been Cheshire that took Lian…….But it doesn't make much sense that she'd take her, then call Roy and tell him where she took her……All we've really established is that it looks as though someone other than Roy took Lian to the warehouse…..I'm pretty sure someone else is involved, but we really don't have concrete proof of that, and thinking isn't gonna help Roy, we still need to find proof……Because really, it only makes sense to us that the clues point to someone else, because we know Roy, and we know how out of character this is, the Police don't have the benefit of years of working with him, so they aren't going to keep looking when much of the evidence they have pretty well condemns him."**

"**Maybe Roy will remember something, did you get a chance to talk to him about it?" Wally asked. "Cause I didn't want to bring it up today, he actually looked like he was starting to relax."**

"**Yeah, we talked…. This afternoon, before you turned up….. He still doesn't remember a thing, he's getting pretty pissed that he can't remember though, so I'm going to back off a bit, I told Ollie to leave it alone for a few days as well, see if Roy will remember something if he's not feeling pressured all the time by constantly being asked questions about it…….I wanted to talk to Lian, but Ollie's not prepared to let that happen yet, and I have to follow his lead there, it's touchy, and she's only a little kid, so we'll have to let her open up naturally when she's ready to talk about it."**

"**So what your saying is we've got lots of clues that don't give us much in the line of real answers?" Wally asked.**

"**That's the way it goes sometimes, we just have to keep chipping away until we find something that will make those clues all fall into place. It'll happen, it has to, because the alternative just isn't acceptable, I'm just hoping it happens before Roy ends up behind bars."**

**End Part 5**


	6. Chapter 6

**Roy stood leaning against the door frame outside the front door of Ollie's home, it was late, he wasn't sure how late, but he could feel a slight dampness in the air that indicated it was well after midnight. The streets were quiet, no one was around. He walked silently over to the stairs and sat down, clad only in sweat pants, the chill in the night air made him shiver slightly but he didn't care, in fact it felt good, at least it was a feeling he could stop if he wanted to, he could just go back inside into the warmth. But these other feelings, the ones he battled with everyday couldn't be stopped so easily. Confusion, hurt, fear, hopelessness and a myriad of other emotions had made their presence known over the last couple of weeks, he'd had to fight the anger bubbling inside that threatened to explode to the surface at any moment, anger over the situation he found himself in, anger because he couldn't remember what had happened, anger with others for wanting to help and thus far failing, angry with himself for more things than he could even list.**

**He paused in his thoughts to look up at the sky frustrated when the city lights and pollution made it nearly impossible to see many stars, he craved the wide open spaces of Arizona, he'd often take Lian and go there when he needed to de-stress and get away from the turmoil that so often plagued his life. He would lie back for hours watching the stars, loving the delighted squeals of "Look Daddy." Lian would give when she spotted the odd satellite straying across the sky above them.**

"**Can't sleep son?" Ollie's voice wafted from the door behind him.**

**Roy stood up and turned to lean against the stair rail. "Na…..brains to active."**

"**Well _there's_ a first." Ollie quipped.**

**Roy snorted softly at the joke. "Like you can talk genius."**

**Ollie smiled. "I'm not the idiot standing outside in the cold with no shirt on."**

"**Ha" Roy said.**

"**Ok no smart comeback, now I'm worried. You gonna come inside and talk or what?" Ollie asked.**

**Roy bristled, "I'm sick of talking about it, toldja I don't remember anything."**

"**I said come in and talk, I never said we had to talk about what happened, or what you remember…….Just talk kid, doesn't hafta be about any of that shit, better than standing out here in the cold…….Unless you get kicks out of you nipples standing on end?"**

**Roy chuckled loudly, "As if man"**

**Ollie laughed "Whatever rocks your boat son."**

**Roy walked past Ollie and back inside giving him a playful punch on the shoulder as he went by.**

**A short while later coffee's in hand the two men sat at the kitchen table, an uncomfortable silence stretched between them for a few minutes, before Roy blurted "I thought about taking Lian and going."**

**Ollie stared intently at Roy for a few seconds, the younger mans eye's locking briefly with his own before glancing away uncomfortably. "Going where?" he asked.**

"**Anywhere away from here, where there's space, where no one can find us, where I can think clearly." Roy looked down at his hands that were wrapped around his coffee cup.**

**Ollie sighed, "You mean run." He knew where this was coming from, Roy knew as well as he did that it was only a matter of time before the Police had their case together, and if that happened before they could find out the truth and prove Roy's innocence……well he didn't even want to think about what would inevitably occur then.**

**Roy looked up, startled at the way the word _run_ had sounded. "No not run." He snapped**

"**Then what would you call it?" Ollie asked, keeping his voice quiet and calm.**

"**I'd call it………..It's not……..well…….It'd be running I guess." Roy finished quietly, hanging his head.**

"**Roy, you've faced some big issues in your life, but the one thing that makes you a better man than most, that makes me proud to know you, is that once you realize what those issue's are…. Once you've made a mistake or have to deal with something, you don't run….you suck it in and face it and deal with it….Shit you wouldn't have Lian with you now if you weren't so damned determined to face your responsibilities..." Before Ollie could continue Roy cut him off.**

" **Ok, ok, you don't hafta worry about it, I'm not going to do it, I just thought about it is all, I wouldn't do it _because_ of Lian, because she's not ready to trust me again yet…because she needs you guys around her to help her through it……Because she deserves better….I..just feel like everything's crowding in and the only way out is to run away from it, not the situation but the feelings….I just need it to end." Roy broke off and looked at Ollie, pain and confusion obvious in his eyes "Those other _issue's _you mentioned….Most of the time I knew what went wrong, what I did, where I'd stuffed up, I could face them and deal with them because I knew what I was dealing with…..This time I don't have the faintest idea, I don't know if I did this or why or how…..I can't face an enemy I can't see…..I don't know what to do."**

**Ollie paused, wishing he had an answer that could ease the pain Roy felt, but knowing there wasn't any easy answers for this situation, "Roy…..I wish I could say I knew the answers…That I knew how to make this easier for you….We both know I don't….But we also have to stay optimistic as hard as that may be it's the only way your going to get through this whole thing...Look kid worst comes to worst there's still a lot of aces up our sleeves, we've still got time, we will sort this out……you can trust me on that kid."**

**Roy sighed, realizing how tired he really felt, he wished he could say this conversation was making him feel better but it wasn't, nothing would unless he woke up in the morning with all he memories back, even then he might not like what he remembered. "I trust you Ollie, you know that…..But even if we sort this out…..even when it's over…I still have to tell Lian her Mothers dead….I still have to face that yet and I don't know how I'm going to do it."**

"**Son your thinking too far ahead, in times like this you can't be doing that, that's half the reason your heads so messed at the moment, you gotta only be thinking in the short term, only what's happening in the next day or so, not what's happening way down the track. If you want to ease off on yourself and reduce the amount of energy your channeling into all that thinking you've got to make it a goal to take one thing at a time, if you don't your gonna burn out, and how's that going to work for you hey?...How's that going to help Lian?"**

**Roy rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Your right I know….I'll try man, I'll try….Only think about tomorrow right?...I can do that but now that it's almost time to get up…..I'm going back to bed, cause you wear me out man." Roy stood and flashed Ollie a smile that didn't meet his eyes. "Later dude, it's been fun."**

**Ollie watched as Roy walked towards his room not quite sure if Roy's last comment was a dark attempt at humor, or a sarcastic way of saying he felt worse. Putting his elbows on the table Ollie buried his face in his hands "Shit." He spat in frustration.**

**end part 6**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Through the darkness that clouded his mind, he could hear something, and when he looked hard, he could just make out a shadowy figure. He wasn't sure what it was doing there, or where it had come from his body protested and his mind wrestled with the fog that threatened to make him slip into darkness.**_

_**The figure approached and pushed him, he felt himself fall to his knees. The figure leaned over him, and when it rose and moved away he could see it had somthing in it's hand...Sticks?...No...Arrows.**_

_**It moved to stoop over another dark figure that lay crumpled on ground, he felt he should know who the other figure was, but the fog in his mind wouldn't let him recall the information. He couldn't see what the ominous figure was doing, but he sensed it was wrong. The figure moved away...through a doorway, he forced himself to rise, and follow. His mind felt as though it was floating behind him, his body fighting to give in to the weakness that assailed it. Wait...He could hear her...She was sobbing...His heart beat faster as he realised the figure was leaning over her. He tried to force his muscles to respond, but they refused. "No...Get away from her" He heard himself yell, his voice sounding as though it was coming from a great distance away. "Get away from her you bastard."**_

**Roy's eyes flew open at the touch of a hand on his shoulder, he sat up, startled. It took him a minute for his mind to adjust, before realising he had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room.**

**Connor had been leaning over him, it was his hand on his shoulder that had woken him.**

**"Are you ok?" Connor asked. "I heard you talking in your sleep...Dreaming, I didn't know if I should wake you or not."**

**Roy stared, his heart beginning to slow to it's regular pace from the rapid beating the dream had pushed it to.**

**"Umm...Yeah...It's ok...Talking in my sleep? What did I say?" he asked groggily.**

**"Well actually, you were yelling, telling someone to 'leave her alone' " Connor said. "Who were you dreaming about?...It sounded pretty rough."**

**Roy blinked, trying to recall the dream, but all that remained was a feeling of dread, and panic it had left behind. "I...I can't remember...It..It's gone." he stammered**

**"Just take a minute to think about it Roy, it might come to you.Was it about Lian?" Connor asked, he didn't want to push Roy, but he had the feeling this dream was important.**

**Roy frowned, thinking hard, "I don't remember." He said, his voice rising in frustration.**

**"Maybe it was about Cheshire, Roy...Maybe the dream was about what happened." Connor added.**

**Suddenly Roy felt all the pent up anger and frustration he had been surpressing explode to the surface as he had feared it would. " I TOLD YOU I DON'T FUCKING REMEMBER." He screamed, springing to his feet and shoving Connor hard.**

**Caught off guard, Connor stumbled backwards, falling over the coffee table, as soon as he hit the floor he sprang back to his feet and assumed a defensive position.**

**Roy stood, his face flushed with anger eye's blazing and fists balled, ready to strike again.**

**"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?"A female voice yelled from the doorway.**

**Roy spun around to see Dinah standing there, despite the firm tone in her voice only concern showed in her expression.**

**"WHY CAN"T YOU ALL FUCKING LEAVE ME ALONE." Roy bellowed, before storming off in the oppersite direction towards the kitchen which was the only other entrance to the room.**

**Connor let out the breath he hadn't realised he was holding, he was very glad Dinah had appeared when she did, he didn't want to end up in a fight with Roy especially when it was obvious Roy wasn't thinking clearly. Not that he was afraid in any way, other than damaging Roys obviously fragile emotoinal state even more, but both he and Roy knew that whilst Roy was a better archer and marksman, Connor's skills in hand to hand combat were far superior to Roy's, and he had no desire to use those skills on someone whome he considered a part of his family.**

**Dinah stood for a minute staring after the red headed archer, stunned by the outburst. Turning back to Connor she asked quietly, "What was that all about?"**

**Connor explained what had just happened before adding "He told me he didn't remember the dream, I felt it could be important, I pressed him to try harder to remember...I should have listened to him, I knew how stressed he's been and I should have backed off." he paused before adding. "I'll go and apologise."**

**"Oh no you won't Kiddo...Leave him to cool down for awhile before following him into a room full of easily thrown sharp objects, or you could find yourself dodging flying knives and forks in the state that he's in at the moment." Dinah said. "Let me handle this, you just wait for him to approach you when he's ready don't try to broach it with him untill then...Don't worry...I know Roy, he won't let it go forever, Once he calms down, and realises he over reacted he'll talk to you about it.**

**-------------------------------------**

**Half an hour later, Dinah entered the kitchen. She was very glad Ollie had taken Lian out for the day, and even more releived she had stopped by to visit.**

**Roy sat at the table with his back to her as she entered, he had both arms crossed in front of him on the table, his head down and resting on his folded forarms. Dinah approached and reached out to run a hand gently accross his shoulders whilst at the same time taking a seat next to him.**

**"I'm a bastard" Roy said sitting up straighter.**

**"No...No your not, your reacting the way most people would in you postion." Dinah said, still keeping her hand on his shoulder, but leaning over and resting her forhead on Roy's upper arm.**

**"I totally over reacted, I knew he was only trying to help...I could feel it building for awhile now, I knew I was gonna lose it eventually..."**

**"It could've been worse Boyo...Lian could've been here but she wasn't, so I guess if you were gonna lose it, now was as good a time as any...Connors a big boy he understands."**

**Roy gave a half hearted chuckle. "Just as well you came in when you did...Connor would've wiped the floor with me."**

**"You do have a way of biting off more than you can chew somtimes Red...How many times has that temper of yours got you in deep?" Dinah added lightly.**

**"Too many times Dinah, more than I could count...Man I hope Lian doesn't inherit that trait from me."**

**Dinah laughed. "I wouldn't worry about that Boyo, she's already smarter than you."**

**Roy chuckled again. "Poor kid, she got herself a hell of a deal in the parenting department."**

**"I don't know...she could have done a lot worse than having you as her father." Dinah said firmly, rising to go make some coffee, before continuing. "This is big Roy, bigger than you...You can't be blamed for feeling out of control at the moment if I'd been in your position I would have probebly decked Connor, not just pushed him and stood there glaring at him. The fact that you didn't follow through before he even hit the floor show's you were still trying to keep some kind of control...Don't keep taking this all on board yourself Kid it's not working for you, it never has." She paused as she handed him his coffee, before adding. "We want to be here for you we want to help don't keep pushing us away Red we're your family...I know we're a pretty rag tag bunch but all we really have is each other...Ollie doesn't know how to reach you, what to say or how to make it easier for you, we're all feeling pretty much the same way Boyo."**

**Roy sighed 'I don't know what I need...Beside having this whole nighmare over, I don't really know how to express what I'm feeling..." he stopped, rubbing a hand across his eyes and holding it there for a moment.**

**"You can stop beating yourself up for a start, you said you've felt ready to explode for awhile now don't let it get that far if your feeling angry say so...you_ are allowed _to feel things you know...Don't bottle it up inside and withdraw from us of course we're going to feel concerned. You get all mopey and quiet and we're all supposed to look the other way? Does'nt work like that, your gonna have Connor or Ollie or any one of us start asking questions, 'cause we want to help...But if you say 'Hey gang I'm in a pretty foul mood today cause I'm in a situation I can't control so a little space please...Oh and if someone wants to meet me in the gym you can help be blow of steam by trying to kick the crap out of me on the practice mat, that'd be handy too.' then we will all know where we stand and you can avoid some of what happened between you and Connor happening again." Dinah sighed than sat back, she hoped she was helping, it wasn't easy to find the right words.**

**Roy leaned back, he _had_ been keeping his feelings to himself, he wasn't great at expressing himself emotionally, never had been. But Dinah made it seem so simple."So I just say, I'm pissed, so keep clear? And Connor will stop trying to fix things and Ollie will stop plying me will bowls of chilli to cheer me up?"**

**"Well maybe not completely, but if they don't I'll help you kick their butts myself."**

**Roy smiled, a genuine smile that made his eye's sparkle. " And if I need a sparing partner to blow off steam, I just have to ask?"**

**"Anytime Boyo, just say the word."**

**His eye's sparkled mischeiviously "So if we spar will you wear your old costume...the one with the fishnet stockings?" he asked raising his eyebrows up and down cheekily.**

**Dinah laughed "You cheeky sod...In your dreams Kiddo." she said giving him a smack on the back of the head but happy to see a glimmer of the old Roy back.**

**---------------------**

**Later that afternoon Dick arrived to visit Roy, after a breifing by Ollie on what had occured that day, Ollie suggested they both go into the living room to talk. Ollie wanted to hear Dicks update on the case, and as Ollie had been surprised to find Roy and Connor both busy downstairs fletching arrows, he didn't want to interrupt them... It was the first time in weeks Roy had even picked up an arrow.**

**Lian sat at the kitchen table coloring in as the two men discussed what Dick had found at Roy's apartment in hushed tones so Lian wouldn't hear.**

**"So you really beleive there was another person involved in this?" asked Ollie**

**"Looks that way." Dick stated**

**"Hell kid it more that looks that way...Like you said, ain't no way Roy would have taken Lian out the window." Ollie said.**

**Dick spoke slightly louder this time, he needed Ollie to understand that things weren't quite as simple as they appeared. "There are other senarios that could have occured, maybe Cheshire took Lian and called Roy because she wanted to face him, maybe she set the whole thing up, we can't rule out Jade taking Lian to the warhouse..."**

**A small voice came from the doorway "But Mommy didn't take me there, the man did...he was Mommy's freind."**

**The two men stopped and turned to look at the little girl, they hadn't heard her approach and weren't aware she was listening.**

**"What man sweetheart?" Dick asked gently.**

**Ollie gave Dick a glare, then rose and walked over to pick her up. He was about to reassure her, expecting her to refuse to say anymore, but was surprised when she mumbled a reply.**

**"The man...Like Grandpa Ollie...But with white hair." she murmered.**

**"Dick froze, a look of shock on his face as suddenly the peices of the puzzle began to drop. "Lian...This man...This freind of Mommy's...Did he have a beard like your Grandpa Ollie?"**

**"Yes, and a patch on his eye like a pirate...only he wasn't mean like a pirate, he was nice...He said Mommy wanted to see me and Daddy would come after he'd finished sleeping." Lian replied**

**Dick and Ollie stared at each other, both coming to the same conclusion. "Slade" they both said at the same time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**The three costumed clad hero's sat in Ollie's basement work room, watching the fireworks being played out in front of them by the two angry archer's, Ollie clad in his Green Arrow costume, stood red faced, hands on hips, as Roy dressed in street clothes, stood screaming into his face.**

**"YOU CAN"T BE SERIOUS OLLIE, YOUR NOT FUCKING GOING WITHOUT ME..NO FUCKING WAY." He bellowed.**

**"OH FOR GODS SAKE BE REALISTIC, YOU'RE UNDER COURT ORDERS NOT TO LEAVE THIS HOUSE." Ollie bellowed back.**

**"STUFF THE FRICKIN COURT ORDER OLD MAN, WE"RE TALKING ABOUT_ MY_ LIFE HERE, THE LIFE THIS PSYCHO HAS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN, YOUR NOT LEAVING HERE WITHOUT ME, I AIN'T GONNA LET YOU." Roy ranted.**

**Ollie let out an exasperated sigh, turning his back on his irritated ex partner and ward, throwing his hands in the air and walking a short distance away to stand with his hands behind his head. He and Dick had kept the fact that they had discovered that Deathstroke had been involved in murdering Cheshire and setting Roy up to themselves, Ollie hadn't wanted to worry about waking up one morning to find out Roy had gone after him himself, and Roy's reaction to the news tonight when they finally told him only served to prove he had done the right thing in keeping it quiet. Dick had spent the last six days finding Slade Wilson's location and monitoring the mercenary's movements. Now they were ready to go after him, to find out exactly what happened. They were suited up and ready to go, Wally and Mia weren't able to come, they'd been called away to a crises that both the Titans and the JLA was needed for, so that left Ollie, Connor, Dick and Dinah to deal with Deathstroke, if they could just manage to get past Roy.**

**"Wake up to yourself kid, you know it can't happen...You don't even have a costume...And someone's got to stay with Lian." Ollie had made a conscious effort to lower his voice, hoping to calm the situation.**

**"SHIT OLLIE, I DON"T NEED TO BE IN COSTUME TO GO AFTER WILSON, HE KNOWS WHO I AM, YOU KNOW THAT." Roy took a breath, then he also made a deliberate effort to lower his voice, "Look Ollie, I could fight him in blue jeans and it's not gonna matter, point is this is my fight, I need to be with you on this...This Dude killed my daughters mother, he framed me, he destroyed the life I had, and ruined the relationship I had with my kid...I need to know why...I need to go."**

**Before Ollie could reply Dinah cut in. "He's right Ollie...If this was you or I we'd damn well make sure we got a piece of the action, we can't leave him out...I'll stay with Lian...Roy should go...He needs to."**

**Ollie stared at Dinah, thinking through what she had said before speaking, "Ok kid, lets get you kitted out." he said.**

**-----------------------**

**Five hours later and the four hero's lay in the long grass on the top of a hill overlooking a large cement building.**

**"It's and old psyciatric hospital." Nightwing said,"It's been empty for nearly twenty years, it was used for violent, high risk patients but they closed it down when someone leaked files to the press that showed the patients were being kept in inhuman conditions...As old as the place is its pretty well fortified, the plans I found show numerous heavy security doors we might have to work or way through to find him."**

**"Any idea on where he might be in there?" Green Arrow asked.**

**"None, we're just going to have to work through it one step at time." Nightwing said**

**"Maybe if we split up into two groups, we can cover more ground." Connor said.**

**Roy looked at him one eyebrow raised. "Dude...We're talking Deathstroke The Terminator here...This Dude is bad news and we ain't got any Meta's on our side here."**

**"Roy's right...We stand the best chance of pulling this off if we stay together...Slade isn't to be underestimated." Nightwing said firmly.**

**"He's really that powerful, I mean he's not Metahuman is he?" asked Connor.**

**"Pretty much, he's got advanced strength and agility, and he uses 90 of his brain capacity, the result of some seriously fucked up military experiment I believe, he's taken on the Titans and beaten them to a stand still before...Three archer's and an acrobat ain't nothin to him." Roy said**

**"Ok enough talk, lets get this show on the road" said Green Arrow, already starting down the hill.**

**-------------------------------**

**They reached the building and were surprised to find the door unlocked.**

**"You'da thought he'd be a bit more carefull about that." Green Arrow said.**

**"Nah man, he pobebly knows we're here, he's not stupid." Roy added**

**"He's known since we arrived, but that just means we have to be more careful, not less, we don't have the element of surprise here." Nightwing said**

**"Ok then little flies, lets step into his web." said Green Arrow cautiously entering the door.**

**They made their way slowly, checking each room as the went, Green Arrow and Connor takeing the point with Nightwing and Roy takeing up the rear.**

**After and intense half hour, they came to a long hallway with numerous doors leading off it, they slowly made their way past an opened reinforced doorway and down the hallway, again checking each door as room as the went.**

**"I wondered how long it would take you to find me...Your getting better at this game as you age Bat boy." echoed a deep voice from behind them.**

**The four hero's whirled around to find Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke blocking the doorway behind them.**

**end part 8 -to be continued.**


	9. Chapter 9

**The four hero's stood facing Deathstroke, Green Arrow, Roy and Connor all standing alert with arrows nocked and aimed at Slade.**

**Deathstrokelaughed, "Come on Harper, you and Green Arrow both know I can dodge those."**

**Roy stepped forward, but stopped when Nightwing reached out to grip his arm to stop him advancing and further.**

**"Always the hot head Harper. You weren't ever one for thinking before acting...all balls and no brains." Slade taunted.**

**Roy felt himself trembling slightly with anger. "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO IT SLADE?" he yelled.**

**"Why?..Why?...Because I could that's why." Slade said, lightly**

**"What...You saying you do pro bono work now Wilson?" Green Arrow asked angrily.**

**"Hell no..." Slade laughed "I was paid handsomely to ace Cheshire...Bringing Harper into it was just for fun."**

**"WHO PAID YOU TO KILL CHESH...AND WHY IN GODS NAME DID YOU BRING MY KID INTO IT." Roy screamed.**

**"You know I don't divulge details about my employers Harper...Like I said I pulled you into it because I could...Because quite frankly your a right pain in the ass...Seeing as Cheshire was in town..so to speak...I thought it might be fun to look you up and make it a little family reunion...So I took your kid and organized for Cheshire to meet me at the warehouse...Nice kid by the way Harper...a real doll...unfortunate that she was the easiest way to get to both of you." Deathstroke said calmly.**

**"Your an asshole Wilson...You've gotta be really fucked in the head to take a kid and have her watch her mother being killed." Green Arrow growled.**

**"What do you think I am Queen?...She never saw her Mother die..." Slade snapped.**

**"WELL WHAT THE FUCK DID SHE SEE?" Roy bellowed.**

**Deathstroke chuckled, "Ah, that's right Harper you don't remember any of it do you...Or at least you shouldn't...That little drug I slipped you is a new type of seditive works a treat...Still experimental though and unfortunately for you one of the side effects it is loss of memory...So how much did _you_ lose Harper?..six months?..twelve months?..Some lose even more...Neat trick isn't it?"**

**"You darted him didn't you? The other dart they found was yours?...So you want me to guess the rest of the story...How you took Lian called Roy and arranged for both he and Cheshire to come to the warehouse...I imagine you had Cheshire arrive first...maybe left Lian with her just before Roy arrived..." Nightwing said.**

**"Well I guess the cats out of the bag." Slade laughed. "The dart was sloppy, I shoulda known better but Queen turned up before I had a chance to clean up...Any way I knew you'd figure it out eventually...Thought the kid might tell you earlier actually...Well your right I did leave the kid with Cheshire, and I made myself scarce when Harper arrived...hid in the back room...He never knew I was there untill the end...Like I said he's a hot head he took one look at Cheshire and they both got straight into it...anyway the end result was Harper shot the bitch with a dart when she ran into the room where I was...He followed her in...Guess he wanted to make sure she was out of it...He didn't really appreciate finding me there...We went a couple of rounds till I got sick of it, and I could hear the kid outside bawling so I cut it short and shot him with the dart...Like I said the drug works a treat puts 'em off the game straight away...But I gotta give it to the kid, he didn't stay down...Had to knock him down...I finished off Cheshire and went out to see to the girl...Harper surprised me when he followed me out...He yelled something at me then staggered outside, I don't know where he went after that...but figured he must have called these two." Slade nodded to indicate Green Arrow and Connor. "Cause they showed up about twenty minutes later...And I took off... That's when the fun was over." Slade finished.**

**Roy stood staring, trying to process what had been said. Trying but failing to match memories with Deathstrokes words.**

**Nightwing spoke up."Why'd you let Roy go...Why didn't you kill him too?"**

**"I had no intention of killing him like I said he's a pain in the ass and it was payback of sorts...And one day he'll get in my way once too often and that's when he'll get it...Not this way..Not when I brought him into it...Like I said it was a game...I figured I only had a small chance of pulling it off completely...Thought his kid would spill the beans...And I knew once Robby Shortpants here was bought into it he'd figure it out but I figured it could go two ways either way I win, you lose...I got to do my job and ace Cheshire and if you hadn't figured it out Harper would end up behind bars..And big green Daddy here would get to go around thinking about how bad he musta stuffed up to raise a killer...Or if you did figure it out...like you have...I still aced Cheshire and I got to fuck with Harpers head...because it's pretty fucked up at the moment isn't it Speedy my boy." Deathstroke laughed.**

**"YOUR A COMPLETE ASSHOLE WILSON." Roy bellowed releasing the arrow he had nocked.**

**Deathstroke dived into a nearby doorway, easily avoiding the arrow, and disappeared into the room.**

**Roy ran towards the doorway, blinded by anger..he almost ran straight into the room without checking where Deathstroke was, until Nightwing managed to leap in front of him to stop him. "ROY." he yelled to get the Archers attention, "Stop and think you run in there and your as good as dead...Slow down before you get us all killed."**

**The tone in Nightwings voice was enough to make Roy stop, "Your right..I'm sorry..lets do this properly." he said.**

**After entering the room cautiously, they soon realised Deathstroke wasn't in it, however there were two other doors leading off the one they were in.**

**Green Arrow indicated silently that he and Connor would take the first door, leaving the second one to Nightwing and Roy.**

**Green Arrow and Connor cautiously entered the first door, as Nightwing leaned his back against the wall and sidled up to the second doorway, Roy doing likewise. Nightwing silently counted to three before nodding to Roy and both men sprang into the doorway, Nightwing crouching low whilst Roy stayed high, his bow drawn ready to fire...Nothing...They both cautiously moved inside noticing a smaller store room to one side of the larger room they were in. They moved towards it slowly...Suddenly a small explosion echoed behind them, they whirled around racing to the doorway. They could see the other room which Green Arrow and Connor had entered, now had the door closed, a wisp of gas or smoke floating out from underneath it.**

**"OLLIE." Roy yelled starting towards the door.**

**"Had to even things up a bit boy's." Deathstroke said as the two men stepped out of the door into the larger room.**

**"BASTARD." Roy bellowed.**

**"Don't worry about it kid, its just gas, they'll sleep it off...Wanna tango?." Slade joked.**

**Roy let the arrow he had nocked fly, Deathstroke darted out of the way, only barely avoiding the arrow.**

**"Close but no cigar." Slade quipped, jumping and rolling out of the way to avoid a flying kick Nightwing had launched at him.**

**Roy released another arrow, this time Deathstroke was forced to dive to the ground to avoid it as the arrow thudded into the wall behind him.. Deathstrokemoved fast, simultaneously springing back to his feet while sweeping Nightwing of balance by striking both legs with his power staff. Nightwing flipped back to his feet instantly, but not before Deathstroke had slammed a boot solidly into Roy's stomach, before the Archer could fire another arrow. The bow flew from Roy's grasp and was quickly scooped up by Deathstroke who spun around and used the bow to block the kick Nightwing had aimed at him, the bow snapped in half and Deathstroke tossed it aside.**

**Nightwing launched another attack, this time managing to land a number of blows and drive Deathstroke backwards into the small room they had been in before. Roy managed to recover quickly and join in the attack. For a moment it seemed as though the two hero's were beginning to gain ground...Only for a moment though, as Deathstroke fired a blast from his staff, causing the two young hero's to scatter and roll out of the way in different directions. Another blast forced them further back and allowed Deathstroke the time he needed to get to the other side of the room, at the same time he blasted a small bared window open.**

**"It's been fun Boy's." Deathstroke said as he prepared to dive out the window.**

**"What..Leaving so soon? The party's only just starting." Roy quipped as he grabbed the broken bow, throwing it towards Deathstroke. The two broken pieces of the bow, still joined together by the bow string flicked around Deathstrokes legs, causing the Mercenary to stumble momentarily.**

**Nightwing and Roy instantly pounced, knocking Deathstroke sideways, Slade rolled out of the way and sprung back to his feet as Roy dived headlong towards him. Deathstroke slammed the steel powerstaff into the young Archers head, knocking him unconscious to the ground, before dodging Nightwing's tackle.**

**Firing repeatedlyat Nightwing, Deathstroke kept him flipping and rolling as he edged towards the window, before making his escape through the small opening.**

**Nightwing run towards the window, then stopped and turned towards his unconscious friend, he knew there was no use following the Mercenary, and it wasn't wise to even contemplate sticking his head out the window, there would be another time...Today they had achieved their main goal, Deathstroke would have to wait.**

**Half and hour later Nightwing sat leaning against a wall as the three Archers rubbed their aching heads. He couldn't help but give a chuckle.**

**Roy glared, "Something funny Grayson...Wish to hell you'd share the joke with me." He grumbled rubbing the rather large, swollen lump on his head.**

**Nightwing laughed."I just couldn't help thinking that you three look like Robin hoods merry men...recovering from a night of too much merriment."**

**"Ha fricken Ha." Green Arrow said sarcastically.**

**"I don't see the joke here...Slades gone, he made us look like amateurs and without him we don't really have anyway of proving I didn't kill Chesh..It's gonna come down to our word on what he said and what courts gonna take that?" Roy snapped.**

**"Hmmmm...well its just as well I came prepared then." said Nightwing.**

**Roy stared at Nightwing, "Spill man." he said.**

**"Well...It's just as well I had a camera and transmitter on me, in my mask and Oracle was able to record the whole conversation." Nightwing said.**

**A slow smile crept across Roy's face. "Dude your a fricken genius." he said feeling relief flow through his body, for the first time in weeks he could see light at the end of the deep dark tunnel he had found himself in. At last an end to this madness was in sight.**

**Almost twelve months later, Roy stood with his young daughter beside Jade's unmarked grave, they weren't able to put a headstone on it. Roy knew the life Jade had lived meant such a monument would have only been a target for vandalism. It had taken a long time to regain Lian's trust, he was able to eventually tell her about the death of her mother, but the little girl still was not aware that Cheshire had died at the warehouse that night, Roy had simply told her that Jade had been killed by someone bad. He would tell her the whole story when she was old enough to understand.**

**He crouched down beside her as she placed a small bunch of flowers and a drawing she had done on the ground nearby.**

**"Will Mommy see them?" she asked her father.**

**"I'm sure she will sweetheart...I'm sure she knows we're here right now." he said.**

**"I loved Mommy even though she was bad." Lian said.**

**"And Mommy loved you baby...even though she did bad things...she still kept you in a good place in her heart."**

**Lian turned towards her father. "I love you Daddy...more than the whole wide world." she said childishly.**

**"Ditto, Baby Doll." Roy said scooping her up and carrying her towards the car. Cuddling her close he added. "You _are_ my whole world Princess."**

**end**


End file.
